Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Ambedkar Nagar constituency, Ritesh Pandey, resigned from the party on Sunday and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Pandey also sent a letter to party chief Mayawati, listing causes of his resignation from the party. He alleged of being neglected by the party.

While joining the BJP in New Delhi, Pandey said he had come forward to work and contribute to Prime Minister Modi’s vision for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ under his leadership.

Pandey said would work hard to ensure that the National Democratic Alliance wins more than 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He thanked the BJP leadership for giving him the party’s primary membership with “a lot of love and respect”.

Pandey is likely to be the BJP candidate from Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat.

In his resignation letter sent to party president Mayawati, Pandey said he had come to the conclusion that the party does not need his service any more as neither was he called for meetings for a long time nor had the party leadership spoken to him.

“For a long time, I have not been called to party meetings and the party leadership is also not communicating with me. I made several attempts to contact and meet you and other top office-bearers but got no results. During this period, I kept on meeting the public and workers and continued working in the constituency. I have reached a conclusion that the party does not need my service and presence anymore,” Pandey said in the letter.

Pandey added, “So, I do not have any other option apart from resigning from the primary membership of the party. The decision to break the relationship with the party is a difficult decision from an emotional point of view.”

Urging Mayawati to accept his resignation letter, Pandey also said, “I stepped into public life through BSP. I got your guidance, the support of the party’s office-bearers and the ground-level party workers made me learn how to walk in the corridors of politics and society."

Pandey thanked the party workers and supporters for giving him an opportunity to represent the party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly and in the Lok Sabha

He shared his resignation letter on X.

Pandey joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders, including Uttar Pradesh in-charge Baijayant Jay Panda, national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Uttar Pradesh unit chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and Rajya Sabha MP and party’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni. UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak was also among those present.

Welcoming Pandey into the BJP fold, Baluni said a large number of political and social workers wanted to join the BJP, impressed by its policies and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

“In this series, a very important personality, Ritesh Pandey, the BSP MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha constituency, has joined the BJP today,” Baluni said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

“A strong wind is blowing in favour of Prime Minister Modi,” he added.

Brajesh Pathak said Pandey had taken a “courageous step” by joining the BJP after seeing the all-round development of the country and he wished to contribute to the prime minister’s resolve to make India a developed nation.

“Crores of youths of the country are ready to work with Prime Minister Modi today, accepting him as their leader," he said.

Pathak said Pandey, a management graduate, dedicated his life to social work apart from studies.

“His father Rakesh Pandey, who is a member of the Uttar Pradesh assembly, was the Lok Sabha MP from Ambedkar Nagar in the past. While working with him and participating in social activities, Ritesh became popular and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ambedkar Nagar,” he added.